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Months exploring the complex world of the human water cycle pays off for the “Hockabots” as they advance to the World Festival in Houston April 18-21; “Incredibots of Panther Creek Estates” of Frisco takes 2nd place and “PIE (Prosper Independent Engineers)” of Prosper takes 3rd place.

All systems go! What’s it like to live and work in space? How do astronauts sleep in a weightless environment, go to the bathroom in orbit, and what effect does space travel have on their bodies? Visitors will get a glimpse at these cosmic curiosities – and learn about the extraordinary conditions, dangers and rewards of human space travel – when the Perot Museum of Nature and Science presents its latest traveling exhibition, Journey to Space (Oct. 21, 2017-May 6, 2018).

Space Toilets and Other Otherworldly Sights From the Perot Museum’s New Space Exhibit -Dallas Observer

A newly named species of fossil crocodile, discovered at the Arlington Archosaur Site (AAS) in 2009, has a home in the Perot Museum’s collections. Deltasuchus motherali,named for original AAS volunteer Austin Motheral who uncovered the fossils as a teen, was a 20-foot crocodile that roamed our region 95-96 million years ago and likely ate everything it could catch, from turtles to dinosaurs. A team of paleontologists and geologists from San Antonio’s Witte Museum, University of Tennessee Knoxville, and University of Wisconsin-Parkside worked with volunteers at the AAS to uncover, prepare, and identify the new species, the findings of which were published this month in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology.

Several thousand eclipse enthusiasts celebrated the August 21 total solar eclipse (partial eclipse for North Texas) at an outdoor party on the Perot Museum Plaza. Festivities included a live NASA feed of the solar eclipse in totality, free eclipse glasses, a photo booth, a DJ spinning space-themed tunes, pinhole cameras with the Perot Museum TECH Truck, activities with Perot Museum Brainiacs, and more.

Philanthropist Lyda Hill unveiled her most recent treasure, The Eyes of Africa, a rare and spectacular mineral. Arriving with an intriguing back story beginning 10 years ago with a miraculous unearthing, an infamous white Mercedes, 400 diapers and a cult-like following, the stunning 2-foot-tall “alien eye” specimen made its permanent debut in Museum’s Lyda Hill Gems and Minerals Hall on July 12.

Perot Museum Chief Curator and VP of Research and Collections Dr. Anthony Fiorillo has returned to Alaska for the first of two In the Field dinosaur fossil expeditions for 2017. Dr. Fiorillo is a pioneer and leader in Alaskan national park dinosaur research. There are four national parks in Alaska with known dinosaur fossils (Denali, Aniakchak, Wrangell St. Elias, and Yukon Charley Rivers) and his team has found fossils in them all. Dr. Fiorillo’s team has developed models for how dinosaurs lived in Alaskan regions and this summer’s work will allow them to test these models and “connect the dots” between the finds in the various Alaskan park units. He and Dr. Ron Tykoski (Perot Museum director of paleontology lab) have thus far discovered and named two new dinosaur species in Alaska: Pachyrhinosaurus perotorumand Nanuqsaurus hoglundi.

In a formidable “battle of the goalies,” Dallas Stars goaltender Kari Lehtonen and FC Dallas goalkeeper Chris Seitz and the mascots from both teams helped unveil a new bilingual, interactive “reaction time exhibit” at the Perot Museum of Nature and Science on June 8. The interactive display, located in the Museum’s Lamar Hunt Family Sports Hall, uses a light board to measure hand-eye coordination and reactionspeed as participants strike randomly lit targets in an allocated time.

With the earned alias “female Indiana Jones,” primatologist and conservationist Mireya Mayor appeared before a sold-out audience on May 4 in the culminating installment of the Perot Museum’s popular National Geographic Live! speaker series. During Mireya Mayor: Pink Boots and a Machete, Mayor shared stories from her journey from a city-loving NFL cheerleader whose family thought joining Girl Scouts as a young child was too dangerous, to a renowned National Geographic Explorer, author, scholar, TV correspondent and mother of six. In addition to extensive fieldwork and research credits, Mayor also discovered a new species of lemur in Madagascar.

As part of its popular National Geographic Live! speaker series, the Perot Museum hosted monster fisherman and aquatic ecologist Zeb Hogan on March 2. His presentation, Zeb Hogan: In Search of River Giants, took guests along on his international excursions where he’s encountered some of the world’s largest freshwater fish – longer than six feet and more than 200 pounds. Many of these giant swimmers, known as megafish, face extinction, which could in turn threaten freshwater ecosystems and the livelihood of millions of people. In an effort to bring awareness and understanding of these water-dwelling behemoths, Hogan has been traveling the world – spanning six continents – to help these critically endangered species.